Daily Whale Originals

The Daily Whale staff would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. We will suspend regular publishing of our daily newsletters and other content beginning in the afternoon on Wednesday, November 21. Our regular publishing schedule will resume on Monday, November 26.

Global professional services firm Aon is in the second year of an innovative apprenticeship program that currently employs 50 students in technology, insurance and human resources positions while they earn associate’s degrees at two-year community colleges.

The two-year apprenticeship program began in 2017 and offers participants a competitive salary, employee benefits, paid tuition toward an associate’s degree, mentoring and on-the-job workforce training. Upon successful completion of the program, apprentices are also offered full-time employment at Aon.

Radio host and political activist Dan Proft on Tuesday argued the Illinois Republican Party should rally around a pure conservative reform platform as it prepares for the 2018 general election while former Republican state party chair Pat Brady said the GOP should instead be focused on drumming up support for Bruce Rauner’s reelection bid.

Chicago attorney and Police Board President Lori Lightfoot on Monday contended the “Chicago Police Department cannot be successful in its core mission of fighting crime and keeping the public safe without a constant eye on reform.”

What was billed as a policy discussion of ideas to stop the outflow of residents from Illinois quickly turned into a testy hour-long conversation among four panelists at the City Club of Chicago on Tuesday.

The 2018 Democratic primary in Illinois’ 5th House District drew six candidates when first-term incumbent Juliana Stratton announced she would vacate the seat and campaign as J.B. Pritzker’s running mate in the gubernatorial election.

A two-term DuPage County board member and a 28-year-old with one local-government race under his belt are facing off in this year’s Republican primary in Illinois House District 49.

Six-term state Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago) currently represents the district but announced last August that he would not seek re-election. Fortner’s announcement came following his vote to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the state’s budget bill that included a 32 percent income tax hike.

There are three Democrats running in the March 2018 primary race to unseat longtime incumbent 8th District state Sen. Ira Silverstein. Silverstein, who has served since 1998, has not faced a primary opponent in over a decade.

Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch tried to strike a positive tone on Illinois’ future Tuesday at the City Club of Chicago and laid out a four-point policy plan to boost the state’s economic outlook in 2018.

Mary E. Flowers, a longtime Democratic state representative and assistant majority leader from Chicago’s South Side, is facing an electoral challenger for the first time in over half a dozen election cycles.